


All I Want for Christmas Is You

by irelandhoneybee



Series: Cozy Winter Karedevil [1]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: A Karedevil Christmas, Christmas, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Matt Murdock Is Not the Greatest at Planning a Surprise, Post Defenders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 04:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12810057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irelandhoneybee/pseuds/irelandhoneybee
Summary: Matt and Karen each want to surprise each other with a Christmas tree.  Chaos ensues.





	All I Want for Christmas Is You

**Author's Note:**

> This is Post-Defenders. Matt has made his return to Hell’s Kitchen and has been back for about a year. He and Karen have been together for about eight months and have been living together for 4 months.

**_December 21st_ **

  
  Karen doubted she would have even noticed the lack of a Christmas tree in her life if she hadn’t passed by a lot on her way to pick up dinner. A new Italian place had opened up not far from the Bulletin that they both wanted to try, so she had told Matt while they were getting ready for work this morning that she would pick up something on her way home.

  
  It was only after she headed down the block where the restaurant was located that she found herself looking at the tiniest Christmas tree lot she had ever seen. She took a moment to stroll through the trees, inhaling that beautiful pine smell. She hadn’t had a Christmas tree since she was a kid. Her parents could rarely be bothered to get one, usually complaining about what a mess they made and that it wasn’t worth it, but without fail, there was always one at her grandma’s house. And every year since Karen could remember she would appoint Karen as her decorating assistant. The times she spent decorating trees with her grandma were some of her favorite memories from childhood.

  
  Of course she knew Christmas was coming. It was hard to escape it. But she and Matt had both been so busy, they’d barely even discussed what they were doing on Christmas Day, let alone gotten a Christmas tree. Foggy had invited them to join him at the Nelson family Christmas, but they had politely passed, having had their fill of the extended Nelson clan on Thanksgiving. It had been a nice change for both of them, since neither one of them was used to big family gatherings. But they wanted Christmas to be just the two of them. They had agreed on that on the train home, but hadn’t spoken of it since then. Christmas had still seemed so far away, and they both found themselves back in the grind of their daily (and for Matt, nightly) routines. And now it was only four days away.

  
 The only other Christmas-related discussion they had had was an agreement that they wouldn’t get each other any presents. While she was doing well at the Bulletin, somehow money always seemed to be a little tight for Karen. Living in New York certainly wasn’t cheap. And Matt was working at a small firm that didn’t pay very much, in addition to the pro bono work he also somehow found time to do. Neither one of them had a lot of money to burn. So they both agreed they could do without presents; just spending the day together without work or Daredevil interruptions was all either one of them really wanted anyway.

  
  Karen entered the restaurant, heading towards the Carry Out counter (she had called their order in before she left the office: chicken parm for him, cheese ravioli for her), and told the man behind the desk her order number. He rung her up while telling her it would be another five minutes. She stepped to the side to wait for her food and almost collided with a Christmas tree, decked out in red, green and white lights complete with ornaments related to all things Italy. She smiled as she noticed a Leaning Tower of Pisa ornament as her order number was called. On her walk home, she couldn’t help but notice all of the trees in store and office windows that she realized she simply hadn’t been paying attention to. They had all probably been up since Thanksgiving, and she had totally missed them. Something stirred in her. It had been so long since she had one, she had managed to completely forget how beautiful a lit Christmas tree was.

  
  She finally arrived home and stepped into their apartment, and couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face when she spotted her boyfriend. He was getting plates and silverware out, and she noticed he had already put napkins and two water glasses on the table, as well as wine glasses and the bottle had yet to finish off. They had lived together for a little over four months now, and Karen still couldn’t believe she got to come home to this man every night.

  
  “Hi baby” Matt greeted her, walking over to give her a kiss. Karen smiled, leaning in and reaching her hand up to his cheek.

  
  “Hi sweetheart”.

  
  “Why do you smell like pine?” he asked as he took the bag of food from her and headed towards the kitchen to fill their plates while she started shedding her winter gear.

  
  “Because I’m pretty sure I encountered every Christmas tree in the city on my way home” she replied, walking over to join him at the table. They started eating, talking about their respective days in between bites. They finished their food, and Karen found she still had Christmas trees on the brain.

  
  “I loved the one at the restaurant. Who knew they had so many ornaments dedicated to Italian food? And there is a gorgeous tree in the window of Blakeley’s. They had purple lights, which sounds tacky, but it was beautiful. And all of the ornaments were this gorgeous deep purple and silver.”

  
  “Sounds like someone has the Christmas spirit”, Matt smiled at her as he took their plates to the sink.

  
  Karen laughed. “I guess I do. I just forgot how much I loved having a tree as a kid. I’d always help my grandma decorate. We’d do the whole nine yards; we even made popcorn garlands.”

  
  Matt chuckled. “And how many bags of popcorn did you have to make before you stopped eating what was supposed to be for decoration?” he teased her, knowing her favorite snack.

  
  “Not the point, Murdock”, Karen answered him, smiling as she joined him in the kitchen, carrying the glasses and empty bottle of wine to rinse out. “She got me a beautiful reindeer ornament that always got preferential treatment. It was my favorite; I’d always put it right in the center. And, I always got to put the star on top. That’s quite an honor, you know.”

  
 “Mmm”, Matt hummed, smiling at her and happily obliging as she leaned in for a kiss. “Actually, I do know what an honor that is. It was always my job to put the tinfoil star on the little Charlie Brown tree we usually had”, Matt said once they broke apart from their kiss. “We couldn’t have a proper star or the stupid thing would tip over” he laughed.

  
  “You and your dad had Charlie Brown sized trees? I love that!”.

  
  “Yeah. I always wanted a full sized tree, but I was happy just to have any tree at all. Usually the ornaments would consist of whatever I had made at school. So there were quite a few paper reindeer and angels. My dad usually always did spring for candy canes, though, so those would go on the tree too”, Matt said, smiling. Karen was relieved. She knew how painful it could be for him to talk about his dad, so she was glad their chatter about Christmas had made him remember the happier times from when he was a kid, before the accident and his father’s death.

  
  After they had cleaned up from dinner, Matt had a little time to kill before he needed to get ready to go out, so sat on the couch reading over a case file. Karen sat at the desk putting the finishing touches on the article she had been working on, and going over her notes for the new one she had just started researching.  
She hit save, stood up and stretched and reached out to run her fingers through Matt’s hair as she passed by him on the way to the kitchen.

  
  “I’m going to make some hot chocolate, do you want some?” she asked.

  
  “That sounds great, honey, thanks.”

  
  Karen poured milk into a pan and started warming it on the stove while she searched for the cocoa mix and two mugs. She smiled as she pulled two down, remembering the Christmas mugs her grandma used to have. Her favorite one had (what else), little multi-colored Christmas trees on it.

  
  “Matt, we have to do better next year,” she mused. “Look at this place, you’d never even know Christmas is only four days away”.

  
  Matt looked up, closing the case file he was reading over. He’d much rather spend the remaining time he had before suiting up talking to Karen anyway.  
“You’re right”, he said, walking over the kitchen to lean on the counter. “Ever since you mentioned all the trees you saw tonight, it made me remember how much I always loved having one as a kid.”

  
  “So can we make a deal that at the very least we will get a Christmas tree next year?” Karen asked, handing him his mug of hot chocolate.

  
  “It’s a deal”, he said, smiling at her, and as cliché as she knew it was, she felt her knees go weak. God, she loved that smile.

  
  Matt took a sip. “Hey, speaking of Christmas, can I ask you something?”

  
  “Of course.”

  “Would you-“ Matt started. He seemed nervous, and Karen wondered what on earth was on his mind.

  “Would you want to come to Midnight Mass with me on Christmas Eve?” he finally got out. He knew she wasn’t religious, and had no idea whether or not she’d actually want t  t to go. All he knew was how badly he wanted her there with him.  Karen beamed at him, which Matt instantly sensed, and felt his tension drift away.

  
  “I would love to, I’m so glad you asked” she said, putting her hot chocolate down to give him a hug. While it was true she wasn’t religious, she couldn’t help but put at least a little stock in the concept of miracles ever since she learned he had not died at Midland Circle. Matt beamed back at her, hugging her tightly to him. He loved her so much sometimes he thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest.

  
  “So, on Christmas Day, maybe I could make lasagna?” Karen asked, memories of her grandmother still fresh in her mind. “I know normally that’s more of a Christmas Eve type thing than Christmas Day, and maybe that’s too much Italian food for one week after tonight?….”, she trailed off. “Maybe we should have something else.”

  
  Matt finished his hot chocolate, setting his mug down on the counter, and grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss. “That sounds perfect” he told her. He smiled to himself, knowing that if she had suggested they have hotdogs for Christmas dinner he would have had the same response. All he wanted was to spend the day with her.  
Matt went to grab his gear to start getting ready to go out, while Karen started making a shopping list for everything she’d need to get for the lasagna, and then went over to her desk to grab her laptop, deciding she’d watch Christmas until she went to bed. She smiled to herself; Matt was right, she did have a serious case of the Christmas spirit.  
Matt came out of the bedroom, all set to go except for his mask. He smiled as he heard the sounds of Miracle on 34th Street coming from her laptop. Karen stood up and walked over to him, kissing him before he left. They touched their foreheads together and Karen whispered “be careful”, as she always did before went out Daredeviling, tonight adding “watch out for Christmas trees”. He laughed as he put his mask on, and went in for one more kiss.

**_Christmas Eve_ **

  Karen woke up on Christmas Eve morning to Matt kissing her forehead. Matt silently cursed himself for waking her up. She had told him when she got home last night that Ellison had made it very clear that he didn’t want to see her back in the office until the 26th, and for once, Karen had decided to listen to him. Matt was going into the office, so he got up at his regular time. Karen hadn’t even stirred when his alarm went off (a perk of his super-hearing, he had set the volume extremely low last night, knowing he was the only one who had to get up), only waking up when she felt his lips on her forehead after he was showered, dressed and ready to go.

  
  “I’m sorry, baby, go back to sleep”, he whispered, running his hand over her forehead.

  
  “Mmmmm…no, it’s ok”, Karen said groggily, stretching her arms out as she yawned.

  
  Matt winced, still feeling guilty. He knew how rare an occasion it was for her to get to sleep in, but he hadn’t been able to resist kissing her before he left.

  
  “I don’t think I’ll be too late. You’re going shopping later, right?” he said softly, as Karen slowly sat up and Matt moved his hand from her head down to her arm.

  
  “Yep”, she said yawning.

  
  “OK” Matt said, going in for a kiss on the lips. “Please go back to sleep, you never get to have a lazy morning” he called out as he walked out the door.

  
  Karen smiled after him. Matt didn’t know it, but she had a plan for while he was at work. She knew they had agreed on no presents, but they had both been so happy the other night talking about Christmas trees, she was going to surprise him with one. She had already enlisted Foggy to help her bring it home. He wasn’t leaving for his parents’ place until Christmas morning, as Marci was insisting they spend Christmas Eve together.

  
  Karen got up, quickly making the bed. Once she had showered, dressed and had a cup of coffee she ran down to the market on the next block to get the ingredients she needed for the lasagna, also picking up bread and the fixings for a salad, and stopped at the bakery to get some cannoli for dessert (she figured they might as well embrace the Italian theme they had going with the lasagna). Then she made her way to the store she had been looking forward to for the past two days, when she first had this tree idea.  
She happily strolled up and down the aisles, picking out a tree stand, lights, an extension cord and ornaments. Once she got to the checkout counter she realized she may have gone a little overboard. She briefly debated putting some of the ornaments back, but the urge disappeared as quickly as it came. “It’s Christmas, what the hell”, she thought to herself, always preferring a tree that was filled to the brim with ornaments rather than the “less is more” approach.

  
  She took the everything back to the apartment, quickly putting the groceries away while leaving the decorations by the window where the tree would go and went to meet Foggy at the lot she had found a few nights ago.

  
  “You’re late, Page”, Foggy called out as soon as he spotted her.

  
  “I know, I’m sorry”, she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “Thank you for doing this, by the way.”

  
   “Happy to help, especially since I can avoid Marci for a while longer.”

  
  “Uh oh. Trouble in paradise?” Karen asked, quickly spotting her last name tagged on the tree she had stopped by on her way home yesterday to reserve and waved for the owner to come over.

  
  “Not exactly, but she’s driving me crazy. She keeps trying to guess what I got her for Christmas. And she’s relentless.”

  
  “What did you get her?” Karen asked, handing the cash over.

  
  “To be determined. After I help you take this up I’m going shopping.”

  “Foggy! Way to leave it ‘til the last minute”, Karen said, laughing.

  
  “You’re one to talk, K. Who gets a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve?”

  
  “Point taken. But I was working the last two days, and with Matt working today, this was the only chance I had. It’s supposed to be a surprise!”, she said as they picked the tree up, Karen taking the front with Foggy bringing up the rear.

  
  They managed to carry the tree home without much incident, both laughing as they playfully traded quips back and forth while carrying their wide load. They finally got it into the apartment, and Foggy held the tree up while Karen hurried to find the tree stand from the bag she had dropped off earlier. Foggy helped her get the tree in, and they both stood back admiring their handiwork.

  
  “You know, I think this is a first. I can’t ever remember Matt having a Christmas tree before.” Foggy told her.

  
  His words made Karen nervous. “Do you think he’ll like it?”, she asked, her sudden uneasiness about her surprise evident in her voice. “We were talking the other night and he was saying how he always wanting a big Christmas tree as a kid, and he seemed so happy, but I don’t want it to bring up sad memories…” her voice trailed off.

  
  “Relax, Karen, I’m sure he’ll love it”, Foggy tried to reassure her. “Listen, I better get going.”

  “Oh right, you still have shopping to do. What on earth are you going to get her?” Karen asked, trying to contain the laughter she felt welling up at her friend’s predicament.  
“Beats me. Maybe a gift card?”

  
  “Foggy, trust me. If you want to live to see the new year, do not get Marci a gift card.”

  
  Foggy sighed, putting his coat back on and heading for the door. “Wish me luck. And don’t worry, Matt will love this.”

  
 “Thanks Foggy. Merry Christmas!” Karen called out after him, heading into the kitchen to start making the sauce for the lasagna.

***********************

  Matt sighed, finally reaching a point where he felt he could call it quits for the day. It was quite a treat to not have to be back in the office until the 26th. Even though it was only one day off, it was quite a luxury for Matt. Between his day and night jobs, it was extremely rare for him to take any time off. The fact that he got to spend it with Karen was almost too good to be true.

  
  He checked the time, smiling to himself; he should have this planned out perfectly. He gathered his things to hurry home to meet the tree delivery guy. Matt was confident Karen would be out grocery shopping, and he couldn’t wait to hear the excitement in her voice when she came home to a Christmas tree. He had spent a good chunk of his day yesterday finding a tree lot that made home deliveries. He had to pay a little extra, but he didn’t care. The expense was well worth it; he loved nothing more than making Karen happy.

  
  Matt packed up what he was taking home and stepped out of his office.

  
  “All finished for the day?” Fiona, the office secretary asked him. She certainly hoped so, as she was eager to get home herself. Everyone else in the office had already left.

  
  “Yep, heading home. Have a nice Christmas, Fiona”, he said as he walked towards the door.

  
  “Thanks Mr. Murdock, you too”

  
  Matt headed towards the door but stopped in his tracks as he passed the office Christmas tree. It dawned on him that all he had thought to order was the actual tree. He didn’t have ornaments, lights or even a tree stand. “Shit” he muttered to himself as he continued towards the door. In his excitement in getting Karen a Christmas tree, he had totally forgotten that he needed everything that went with having a tree. And he had to get home to meet the delivery guy.

  
  He pulled his phone out as he continued to walk, praying Foggy would be able to come to his aid.

  
  “What up Murdock? How’d you like your-“ Foggy started before Matt cut him off.

  
  “Listen Foggy, I need a huge favor. Can you go pick up tree decorating stuff? I need everything, lights, ornaments, a stand, garlands, whatever and bring it over to my place?”

  
  “Wait, what? I thought Karen got-“

  
  Matt in his desperation was barely listening and cut him off mid-sentence again. “Please Foggy. I have to get home to meet the tree guy and I forgot to get decorations. I want to make sure to beat Karen home; I really want to surprise her. Can you help me or not? I will owe you big time”.

  
  “First of all, I will definitely be taking you up on that, Murdock. In fact, this might even require you doing me two favors.”

  
  Matt smiled, as it sounded like his best friend was indeed going to help him out.

  
  “And second of all-”, Foggy started and then stopped.

  
  “What?” Matt asked him.

  
  “You know what, never mind. I will get the stuff and meet you at your place.” Foggy finished.

  
  “Thanks buddy. You’re a lifesaver", Matt told him, hanging up, and letting out the huge breath he had been holding.

  
  Foggy couldn’t help but smile as he ended the call and made his way to the Christmas department of the store he was in. “Idiots” he chuckled to himself.

 ************************************************

  The relaxed feeling vanished the second Matt stepped into the building. He immediately sensed his front door was open as the strong scent of pine invaded his senses and he heard two voices; one of whom was a very confused sounding Karen. Matt raced up the stairs, cursing himself the entire time for the surprise he thought he had so carefully planned going to hell.

  
  Karen was still trying to figure out why this teenager hauling a Christmas tree was in her doorway, wanting to be let in. Had the tree lot made a mistake? Did they not have record of her picking her tree up this morning? The kid didn’t seem to have any answers.

  
  “So who sent you?” Karen asked the increasingly annoyed kid who at this point just wanted to leave the tree and never see another one for the rest of his life.

  
  Before he could answer, Matt appeared, looking extremely frazzled.

  
  “Matt… hey” Karen said, glancing nervously at the kid with the Christmas tree standing in the doorway. This was not exactly how she envisioned surprising Matt, especially considering she had no idea what was going on.

  
  “Shit, I can’t believe I screwed this up”, Matt sighed. Karen’s eyes widened as the pieces started falling into place.

  
  “Listen, can I take this inside?” the kid asked.

  
  “Go ahead” Matt sighed, shaking his head, still disappointed in himself. He had so wanted for the whole thing to be a surprise.

  
  “Wait, Matt, _you_ got this tree?” Karen asked as the kid moved passed her with the tree grumbling under his breath the entire time.

  
  Matt started to answer but was interrupted by the kid calling out “You want me to put it next to the other one?”

  
  Karen cringed. This was definitely not the scenario she had imagined Matt coming home too.

  
  “The other one?” Matt asked. What the hell was going on around here?

  
  Karen ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah…I kind of… got a tree earlier today. I wanted it to be a surprise for you”, she said letting out a frustrated breath.  
A rush of warmth spread through Matt’s entire body at her words, and once again he had the feeling his heart would burst. The kid stepped back into the hall before Matt had a chance to respond. “OK, you guys are all set. You’ll need to get the new one in water as soon as possible. Do you have a stand?”

  
  “It’s on the way” Matt mumbled, still trying to take the situation in.

  
  “What?” Karen asked him as the teenager made a quick escape, once again muttering under his breath.

  
  “Foggy’s, uh, bringing all of the decorating stuff”.

  Karen shook her head in amazement and couldn’t help but smile. She grabbed his hand and led him into the apartment, over to the window where their two Christmas trees were.

  
  “I thought I had this planned out perfectly. I was so sure you’d be out shopping and I could surprise you. I just really wanted you to have a Christmas tree.” Matt said, still disappointed his surprise had backfired.

  
  Karen’s eyes filled with tears. She didn’t think it was possible to love him any more than she already did but he kept proving her wrong.

  
  “Matt, that is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me” she said, squeezing his hand.

  
  Matt smiled at her and started to say something just as Foggy entered the apartment, bags filled to the brim with stuff for tree trimming in tow. Quickly taking in the scene he had known he would stumble upon, he couldn’t help but laugh as he set the bags down. Karen walked over and started rummaging through them, quickly finding the tree stand. She placed it next to the other one as Matt helped Foggy get the tree in and Karen poured water in the stand.

  
  “Listen, I do not want any part of helping you two get a tree in the future. Are we clear on that?” Foggy said with laughter in his voice.

  
  Matt and Karen both smiled. “It’s a deal, we promise. Thanks again Foggy” she said, as Foggy headed towards the door.

  
  “Merry Christmas you two. Happy decorating.” he called out as he left.

  
  “Foggy helped me get your tree home this morning” Karen explained to Matt, still not quite believing they were in possession of not just one, but two Christmas trees.

  
  “You got me a Christmas tree?” Matt asked softly, tears filling his eyes.

  
  “Mmmhmm.” Karen murmured. “You got me a Christmas tree too” she said, her own eyes welling up again as she reached a hand up to run through his hair.

  
  “I did”. Matt smiled, his face inching closer to hers. They touched foreheads, neither one able to keep the smile off of their face.

  
  “We’re really bad at surprising each other.” Matt said, running his hand up and down her back.

  
  “I object to that statement, counselor. Technically my surprise would have gone off without a hitch”, Karen teased him.

  
  Matt smiled and nodded, acknowledging the truth of her statement. “Alright, Miss Page, I’ll amend my original statement to ‘I’m really bad at planning a surprise for you’” he told her, grinning from ear to ear.

  
  “How about: great minds think alike” Karen answered, smiling.

  
  “Hmm. I like yours better.”

  
  “What are we going to do with two Christmas trees?” Karen asked, laughing.

  
  Matt just smiled. “I guess we have some tree-trimming to do”, his arms circling her waist as she brought hers up around his neck and kissed him. She pulled away after a minute and started rummaging through her shopping bags from earlier.

  
  “What are you looking for?” Matt asked her, impatient, wanting her to come back to him.

  
  “Oh, nothing…” she said with a mischievous note in her voice. Matt raised his eyebrows wondering what she was up to, but soon enough she was walking back over so he didn’t really care, barely paying attention to what she was holding. Karen wrapped her arms around his neck again, only this time her hands moved up to place a Santa hat on his head. Matt laughed as he realized what she was doing.

  
  “You make an adorable Santa Claus, Matt Murdock.” Karen said, kissing the tip of his nose. “The hat matches your glasses perfectly.” She turned around and started stepping away, intending to bring their numerous bags over to the trees to start sorting everything out, but Matt had other ideas. He laughed at her words, grabbing her around her waist while he picked her up and spun her around, as Karen let out a delighted yell.

******************************

  Later, after they had walked home hand in hand from Midnight Mass, neither one ready to turn in yet, Karen walked over and plugged the trees back in, as Matt took his glasses off. Karen went to the couch, where Matt had already settled. Karen brought her legs up onto the couch and leaned into Matt, who wrapped an arm around her.

  
  “I must say, we did an excellent job, Murdock. And now I’m not feeling so guilty about going overboard on ornaments at the Christmas store”

  
  Matt smiled at her and ran his thumb across her forehead.

  
  “I love the glow they give off in a dark room. I forgot how beautiful that is.” Karen said.

  
  “Are they as good the ones you and your grandma decorated?” Matt asked.

  
  “Better”, she told him, and smiled as he kissed her temple.

  
  Karen sat up a little straighter and turned so she was facing him, bringing a hand up to caress his face.

  
  “Merry Christmas Matt” she said softly.

  
  Matt smiled from ear to ear. “Merry Christmas Karen”, he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. He pulled back, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together. “This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had”.

  
  Karen laughed. “You are so corny. And technically Christmas is just starting, Murdock”, she teased.

  
  “I love you.”

  
  Karen smiled. “Love you more.”

  
  “Not possible”, he said, grabbing her face with both hands and kissing her passionately as their Christmas trees continued to glow.

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a long time coming. I originally had the idea around last Christmas to do a Gift of the Magi Karedevil story, but I could never get it to work quite right, and this is eventually what ended up coming out.


End file.
